
(Australian Associated Press)
THE ROAD TO EQUAL PAY
In 2015, Australian women still endure a gender wage gap of 18.8 per cent. This amounts to an extra 59 days of work a year, the government’s Workplace Gender Equality agency says.
1969
– New laws abolish women’s minimum wage being set at 75pct of men’s
1972
– The principle of equal pay for work of equal value is established in law
1973
– Women working in the Commonwealth Public Sector service receive maternity leave entitlements
1974
– The concept of the `family wage’ where men are paid more because they are the “breadwinners” abolished
1975
– South Australia enacts the country’s first sex-discrimination legislation
1983
– Australia ratifies the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
1984
– The Sex Discrimination Act 1984 introduced
1986
– The Affirmative Action Act (Equal Employment Opportunity for Women) introduced
1989
– 34 women win a sex discrimination case against Australian Iron and Steel, a subsidiary of BHP
1999
– Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act replaces the Affirmative Action Act
2009
– Fair Work Act defines equal pay as equal remuneration for work of equal or comparable value
2011
– First national paid parental leave scheme begins; working parents get 18 weeks pay at the national minimum wage
2012
– Workplace Gender Equality Act passed, replaces Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act
– Dad and Partner Pay Scheme introduced, with two weeks pay at the minimum wage